“In order for this precious state to exist forever, there’s only one thing you need to ask yourself every day of life, Ben.
“What can I do for my wife today? Then do it!
“Terri? All you need to ask yourself every day is, what can I do for my husband? Then do it!
“When a husband and wife care more for each other than themselves, no power on earth can destroy that love which is blessed.
“Ben? Please take hold of Terri’s hand and repeat after me.”
She felt his strong, firm grasp capture hers. Afraid to meet his gaze, she kept her eyes on his lips. “I, Benjamin Herrick, promise to take thee, Terri Jeppson, for my beloved wife…”
As he repeated the words of the time-honored ceremony, Terri vowed she was going to do everything in her power to be such a wonderful wife, he would have to fall in love with her. But until that miracle happened, she had more than enough love for both of them.
“Terri? Repeat after me.”
“I, Terri Jeppson, take thee, Benjamin Herrick, for my beloved husband…”
She could hear her voice tremble as she said the words. Ironically Ben’s voice had been deep and strong when he’d spoken his vows. Gone was the mysterious stranger who’d whispered to her in agony from his hospital bed.
This man stood tall and resplendent in a formal midnight-blue suit with a gardenia in his lapel. He’d dispensed with the sling.
“You may now exchange rings. You first, Terri.”
She pulled the wedding band made of Black Hills gold off her middle finger and put it on the ring finger of his left hand. To her relief it seemed to fit.
“Now you, Ben.”
Her heart slammed into her ribs as he produced a wide gold band from his pocket and slid it next to her engagement ring.
“Symbols look beautiful, but they mean nothing without the backing of pure love. Therein lies the magic and the power of the union you have entered into at this hour.
“By the authority invested in me through the church, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
“Ben—you’re not a man known for your patience when you want something badly. Today I must commend you for your restraint this far into the service. You may now kiss your bride—for as long as you like.”
A chuckle rippled through the congregation.
“Do your best,” Terri’s new husband whispered.
She spied a devilish gleam of silver in his eyes before he lowered his mouth to hers.
Most people’s first kiss was done in private. Hers, of course, had to be in front of a captive audience. But nothing about the situation with Ben had ever conformed to the norm.
He’d taken the captain’s advice and seemed in no hurry to end the fun. For the benefit of their onlookers, Terri decided to get into it. At least that was the lie she told herself as she began kissing him back.
Then something changed. With infinite gentleness, he relinquished her mouth. Maybe it was a trick of light, but she thought he looked pale beneath his tan.
“You’re in pain!” she cried softly. “I knew you should have worn your sling.”
“I’ll be all right.”
But he wasn’t all right! The more she thought about it, the more she feared something else had prompted such a drastic change in him. Like maybe the fact that she’d kissed him back?
Dear God—did Ben think she’d used their wedding kiss to wring a response from him he wasn’t prepared to give yet? A response he might never feel? What had he said, maybe love would come to them one day?
“Family and friends,” the captain spoke up, oblivious to her turmoil. “Please rise. May I present Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Herrick. If you’ll join them in the anteroom for the wedding feast, you can offer them your congratulations and take all the pictures you want.”
Beth handed Terri the sheath of long-stemmed Texas bluebonnets she’d been holding for her. Just as quickly, Ben put his arm around her waist and fairly swept her past the pews filled with smiling guests. But their faces were a blur. Already her wedding day had been shattered, and they hadn’t even made it out of the chapel yet!
CHAPTER SEVEN
BEN’S father was the first person in line to give Terri a hug.
“You have no idea how happy you’ve made this family, especially my wife. She calls you Ben’s savior. That son of ours has needed the gentling of a woman for years now. Do you know you’re a vision in that dress, it matches your beautiful eyes? If Ben hadn’t grabbed you, Parker would have. Welcome to the family.”
His kindness moved her to tears. “Thank you, Mr. Herrick. You’ve all been wonderful.”
“Honey?”
“Mom!” She let go of Ben’s father to embrace her mother.
“You look like an angel.”
“You always say that,” Terri scoffed.
“Your husband thinks so, too. He hasn’t taken his eyes off you since you walked into the chapel on Tom’s arm.”
All is not as it seems, Mom.
Beth clamored for her space. She threw her arms around Terri. “Richard could never measure up. Thank heaven Ben came into your life. If you want my opinion, it was all meant to be.”
Terri had thought so too. Until that kiss…
“Name the first one after me,” Beth whispered before the rest of the Herrick clan descended.
Creighton was every bit as charming as his brothers. Parker came at the tail end.
He stared at her for a long moment. “I never stood a chance, did I.”
Her heart swelled with tenderness for him. “Parker—after my divorce I didn’t think I’d get a second chance. I wasn’t even sure I was entitled to one. What happened between your brother and me is something I really can’t explain.”
“You don’t have to,” he said. “It’s called love. You two found the genuine article. Give me some time to get over the pain and I’ll be happy for you.”
Terri didn’t know if she could take much more of this.
“You’ll find true love too, Parker. I know you will.”
His lips broke into that captivating smile. “How about a kiss to hold me until then?”
She thought it would be a simple buss on the cheek. To her surprise, he found her mouth and kissed her warmly.
“That was for Ben,” he teased after letting her go. “Just to remind him he’d better be good to you, or there’ll be hell to pay.”
Suddenly she caught sight of her new husband who must have seen their embrace. His eyes had narrowed. Parker may have done it in fun, but Terri had the unsettling sensation that she was going to hear about it later.
“Mrs. Herrick?”
She swung around to discover Captain Ortiz.
“I’m so glad you could come to the wedding.”
“I was honored to be invited. It is a pleasure for me to see happiness rise out of tragedy. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Captain. My heart goes out to the families of those two young men who died with Richard. Ben and I sent flowers.”
“As I told you before, you have a generous nature. Perhaps too generous.”
“What do you mean?”
“Juanita Rosario has phoned my office at least four times asking how she can get in touch with you. It’s a good thing you’ll be sailing soon. Enjoy your honeymoon.”
There wasn’t going to be one, but Captain Ortiz didn’t know that. In fact he had no idea how precarious things were with Ben right now, or how worried she was about Juanita.
Terri had told the other woman to reach her through the captain if there was an emergency. Unfortunately he’d made it clear he didn’t approve of her giving Juanita money.
“Thank you, captain. Please stay and eat with us.”
“I won’t say no.”
Carlos was next in line. His dark eyes sparkled with mischief. “I didn’t think there was a woman who could bring Ben to his knees. You’ve accomplished the impossible. Don’t ever change. The boss needs you. Congratulations.”
Coming from th
e man Ben trusted with his life, those words warmed her clear through. “Thank you, Carlos. I guess I don’t have to tell you what your friendship means to my husband.”
Behind Carlos she could see several dozen business associates of Ben’s who with their wives would be living on the Atlantis. They’d flown in from as far away as Hong Kong and Australia.
“Mrs. Herrick? May I offer my congratulations. I’m Rolf Meuller, one of the directors on your husband’s board. I represent the Swiss Banking Consortium located in Zurich.” He had a strong German accent.
“You’re just the man I wanted to meet, Mr. Meuller. Between you and me, how deep in the red is he? A wife needs to know these things.”
The man with the steel-rimmed glasses threw back his head and laughed so hard, he had to remove them to wipe his eyes.
Ben counted four down so far: Parker, Carlos, Captain Ortiz and Rolf.
Another ten minutes and he saw his entire board of directors succumb to his bride’s fatal charm. One by one they toppled like pins in a bowling alley following a direct strike.
Everything would have been all right if she hadn’t kissed him back. Lord, she came close to giving him cardiac arrest. It was the one imponderable he hadn’t expected.
He’d told Terri to do her best. But he hadn’t expected her to comply with a response that left him trembling with desire.
After Ben had told her she could trust him, that they’d take each day as it came and see what happened, he couldn’t go back on his promise. At the time, he’d meant what he’d said. He’d thought he could handle it.
But that was before Terri’s kiss had swept him away. From now on he would have to live with the memory of her luscious mouth opening to the pressure of his. The time-worn cliché “invitation to paradise” was no longer laughable.
Ben had made his first mistake. Hell. Now he didn’t know if her response had been playacting from start to finish, or if she’d experienced a genuine burst of passion she’d been helpless to fight. He’d sell his soul to know the truth, but it was too soon.
For one thing, how could he be sure that certain memories of making love with her ex-husband didn’t still fit into the equation somewhere? Though Ben was ready to make a baby with her tonight, he’d assured her she had nothing to fear from him.
Somehow he was going to have to keep his hands off her until enough time had passed that she’d put the past away for good and felt totally comfortable with him. There’d be no wedding night for him tonight. That miracle would have to be put off for a week or two. Beyond that he wasn’t making any more promises to himself.
While he’d lost his appetite, his bride appeared to be ravenous. Throughout their wedding feast she sparkled and laughed. Each time there was a toast, she entertained their guests with her inimitable wit.
Soon everyone was calling for them to give speeches. He supposed it was time to get his over with. It was in a foul temper that he rose to his feet.
“Terri and I want to thank everyone for being here to share this day with us. For a woman who’s terrified of mummies, I have to admit I’m shocked she agreed to marry me.”
The room exploded with laughter.
“She was there for me throughout my ordeal in the hospital. In the dark hours of the night while she came up with astonishing ways to entertain me, I realized I wanted her in my life for good.
“As most of you know, I’ve never had a wife or a private secretary. By some miracle, I now have both. They’re seated at my side. Terri? Stand up and say something to the crowd. They’re sick of me.”
Everyone clapped and cheered.
Inside, Terri was dying. There’d been no mention of love in Ben’s short speech. She’d had no right to expect it. What a fool she was for wanting something so totally out of reach.
If she were wise, she would be thankful for what he could freely give her and make the best of it. He wanted a secretary? She’d give him more than he bargained for.
Terri pushed herself away from the table and stood up.
“I’m afraid my poor husband doesn’t know that every woman who’s a wife, is already a private secretary.”
The females in the room broke into laughter first. Then there was clapping. She waited until it quieted down.
“For my first order of business, I’m eliminating that title and creating a new one. From now on I’ll be officially known on the Atlantis as the new head of the chamber of commerce. That is, if it’s all right with my husband.” She looked around at him, intercepting his enigmatic gaze.
“Do I have a choice?”
Their guests collapsed with laughter once more.
“You see how sweet he is? In case some of you didn’t know, until a week ago I worked for the chamber of commerce in South Dakota. It’s the work I do best. That umbrella will allow me much greater scope than the duties of a secretary.
“When Ben let me read the brochure, I noticed right away that the chamber of commerce was missing from the list of businesses. The Atlantis is a city, and every city needs a chamber. With so much on my husband’s mind, I’m sure it was an oversight.”
Some of his directors laughed outloud and burst into applause.
“Fortunately I can now troubleshoot problems of that nature for him. Already I’ve observed a few other things which will need addressing, but not today.
“Today is our wedding day. I want all of you to know I’m married to the most wonderful man I’ve ever known. Every woman should be so blessed. Thank you for celebrating with us.”
As soon as Terri sat down, the captain of the ship took charge. “There will be dancing in the Blue Grotto Lounge on A deck specially arranged for this occasion. Before we go, let us lift our glasses in a final toast to our illustrious couple.”
He beamed at them. “My wife just said she hopes that all your troubles will be little ones. Cheers.”
Terri kept smiling, but inside her heart was breaking. Even if theirs became the normal marriage he’d alluded to, she was terrified she’d never be able to carry his baby the whole nine months.
Ben’s arm went around her waist. “Everything in time,” he whispered, displaying his uncanny ability to know what was going on in her mind. “This will be our first experience dancing together. I’m looking forward to it. Shall we go? Everyone’s waiting for us.”
She gathered the bluebonnets which had been a surprise gift from Ben and left the room on his arm. Outside the lounge where the ship’s photographer took more pictures of them standing with their families, the unmistakable sounds of a Latin band playing salsa vibrated through her nervous system.
Soon her husband was drawing her through the doors to the dance floor. He pulled her into his arms. At this point her senses were uncontrollably alive. The exciting music only served to heighten her awareness of him.
Some of the couples were expert Latin dancers. She was relieved Ben didn’t try to do anything spectacular. He simply moved her around, but even in that there was grave danger she’d give herself away with the motions of their bodies touching and swaying back and forth.
For the next fifteen minutes she struggled to keep a little distance between them. Thank heaven for the flowers she’d insisted on holding even though he’d suggested she put them down somewhere.
She finally lifted her eyes to his. “They won’t last very long. I want to enjoy them as long as possible.”
He studied her for a breathless moment. “In that case, why don’t we slip away and put them in water. Everyone in the room is wondering how soon we’re going to start our honeymoon. We might as well do our disappearing act now and give them a thrill.”
For an exit line it was brilliant. But she had no illusions he was dying to whisk her off to some private place and make love to her.
“That was easy,” he said as soon as the door to his private elevator closed. “Now that we’re truly alone, tell me what you and Captain Ortiz were talking about. Did he say any bodies had been found?”
If anyone could he
ar their conversation right now, they wouldn’t have a clue she and Ben had barely exchanged their wedding vows.
“No. In a word he said he was glad that despite the tragedy, something good had come out of it. He wished us every happiness in our marriage.”
Since Terri feared Ben might side with the captain when it came to giving Juanita money, she decided to leave that part out.
“That was nice of him.”
The elevator came to stop and the door opened to the condo. Their condo now. Wedding presents were piled high in the foyer. Terri could barely make her way through them to the living room.
She whirled around. “It was a beautiful wedding, Ben. Everything a bride could wish for. Thank you for a perfect day. Your family’s wonderful.”
“So is yours.”
He was trying to undo his tie. She reached up and helped him to ease it off along with his jacket.
He trapped her gaze. “I noticed Parker consoling himself with the greatest of pleasure.”
Her pulse tripped over itself. “He hoped you’d notice that kiss. I’m pretty crazy about that brother of yours. I hope he finds his equal one day soon.”
“So do I…” His voice trailed. “Creighton had some news.”
“Oh, yes?”
“He fired Martha. Apparently he told her that if she tried to make any more trouble for Parker, he’d sue her for leaving Houston and using a company plane without his permission to fly down.”
“So that’s how she got here so fast!” Terri was aghast. “I’m glad he got rid of her, for all your sakes.”
“It’s the best wedding present he could have given us. What would you like to do now?”
“Open presents on your bed.”
“Why in there?”
“Because you look tired. I happen to know you’re in pain. Why don’t we both change. You need to get that arm back in the sling. I’ll bring some tablets.”
“All that sounds good except the presents.”
“Then we’ll worry about them another day. I happen to have another surprise for you anyway.”
She must have said the right thing. Something ignited in the depths of his eyes. “Don’t take too long.”
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